The Eskimo's Secret by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t have it with her when she disappeared.”
    “Why would anyone want the notebook?” Nancy asked.
    Tod shrugged. “I haven’t the foggiest idea. Why would anyone steal an art object that
    would be impossible to sell legally or even show publicly?”
    “Have you ever seen the notebook?” Nancy forced herself to sound casual, aware that she could frighten Tod off the subject.
    “Only every day since we got the Tundra,” Tod answered. “She cataloged it, then she started trying to research its history. The girl was really hooked on that piece.”
    “But do you know what was in the notebook?” Nancy asked.
    “Not really. I mean she never told me or showed it to me. Why?”
    “Then why do you think someone was after it?” Nancy had to ask.
    Tod’s face grew cold. “I think you should leave,” he said.
    “Talk to me, Tod,” Nancy cried in desperation. “Help me find Alana. She called me asking for my help, but I can’t do anything without help from you.”
    “Ask her uncle where she is,” Tod growled. “I wasn’t the inside man and I don’t believe that Alana was, so that just leaves Clement Steele himself.”
    “So where is Alana?” Nancy asked.
    Tod shook his head, then winced. “Go away, Nancy Drew,” he said. “I can’t help you.”
    “Can you tell me anything about what Alana was doing?” Nancy asked, controlling her panic and frustration with a firm hand. It was much easier to be a detective when she was just trying to solve a puzzle; knowing that her father’s safety depended on her actions made it much harder. “Is there somewhere she might have gone? I think I remember her mentioning something called the Firebird.”
    Tod’s eyes flickered to her face, but Nancy could read nothing more than surprise in them. “She wouldn’t go there,” he said.
    “Why not?” It took all her control to keep her voice light, only mildly curious.
    “That lodge is really run-down now. She must have been talking about the old days when it was a special place to stay. It’s not even open to the public anymore as far as I know.” He frowned. “What made you think of it?”
    “The name I guess,” Nancy answered casually. “It stuck in my mind. It sounds sort of special.” She swallowed hard. “What about friends, Tod? Is there anyone who would hide her?”
    “If you talked to her this afternoon, why didn’t she tell you where she was?” Tod demanded, his eyes suddenly full of suspicion. “Why is it so important to you tonight?”
    Nancy hesitated, longing to tell him the truth, longing to share her fears for her father with someone; but she couldn’t trust him. As long as her father was in danger, she couldn’t trust anyone. “Alana told me to forget her, to leave town before I became a victim,” she answered honestly.
    Tod’s face grew grim. “She gave you good advice, Nancy Drew,” he said. “Keep asking questions and you could end up like this ... or worse!”

9. Dark Pursuit

    Nancy caught her breath but before she could speak again, a nurse came to tell her she had to leave. She murmured a few words of polite farewell, then felt a chill as Tod simply looked at her. “Be careful,” he warned, unsmiling. “They aren’t playing games, Nancy.”
    Night had deepened to darkness while she was inside and in spite of the lights and people in the parking area, Nancy felt very much alone. She drove back to the hotel, stopping in the lobby only long enough to ask about the Firebird Lodge.
    “It’s located outside the city,” the desk clerk said. “An old-fashioned place. Used to be quite well known, but it fell on hard times and I believe it’s a kind of rooming house now. Were you planning on going out there?”
    “I think someone there might be able to help my father and me with a case we’re working on,” Nancy said. “I just thought I’d get the address and perhaps a map of the area for my father.”
    “Is your father coming in tonight?” the desk clerk